Fatal Shark Attacks See Spike in 2011

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The numbers are in, and 2011 continued the downward trend in
shark attacks in the United States. That's the good news. The bad
news: Worldwide shark-related deaths were higher than they've
been in nearly two decades, according to the report released
today (Feb. 7).

The 2011 spike in shark-attack fatalities — all of which occurred
outside of the United States — suggests tourists are venturing to
more remote places, said ichthyologist George Burgess, director
of the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File,
which released the shark-attack numbers.

"We had a number of fatalities in essentially out-of-the-way
places, where there's not the same quantity and quality of
medical attention readily available," Burgess, of the Florida
Museum of Natural History, said in a statement. "They also don't
have histories of shark attacks in these regions, so there are
not contingency plans in effect like there are in places such as
Florida." [ Infographic:
Shark Attack Science ]

Shark attack numbers

The report tallied 75
global shark attacks, a number closely matching the decade
average. Twenty-nine attacks occurred in the United States, with
11 of those from Florida. Other countries with multiple shark
attacks included: 11 in Australia; five in South Africa; four in
Reunion; three each in Mexico and Russia; and two each in the
Seychelles and Brazil.

As expected, surfers and others involved in board sports took the
brunt of the attacks, accounting for 60 percent of
unprovoked shark attacks, swimmers 35 percent and divers
about 5 percent.

"It's more than coincidence that we've had this drop over this
last decade," Burgess said. Though some may argue there are fewer
sharks out there, Burgess said, "populations have begun a slow
recovery. By contrast, the number of attacks in the United States
and Florida suggests there's been a reduced use of these waters."

Even so, the global shark-attack fatalities, which reached 16
percent in 2011, doubled the number of fatalities in 2010. In
fact, the global fatality rate for the last decade has averaged
just under 7 percent.

And these fatalities occurred in far-out places, including:
Australia (three fatalities), Reunion (two), the Seychelles (two)
and South Africa (two), with one each in Costa Rica, Kenya and
New Caledonia. Excluding the United States, which showed no
shark-related fatalities, the global fatality rate would have
averaged at 25 percent last year.

Who's killing who?

"It's a good news/bad news situation," Burgess said. "From the
U.S. perspective, things have never been better, our attack and
fatality rates continue to decline. But if it's a reflection of
the downturn in the economy, it might suggest that other areas
have made a real push to get into the tourism market.”

Burgess suggests creating emergency plans for these newer tourism
areas; this spring, he will help develop a response plan in
Reunion Island.

Though shark attacks, and associated human fatalities, make
splashy headlines, Burgess noted people are a
much bigger threat to sharks than the other way around.

"We're killing 30 [million] to 70 million sharks per year in
fisheries —
who's killing who? " Burgess said. "The reality is that the
sea is actually a pretty benign environment, or else we'd be
measuring injuries in the thousands or millions per year."

According to a 2010 study by the International Union for
Conservation of Nature,
one-third of the sharks, rays and skates on Earth are
threatened with extinction.

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